Best way to use my summer job $$$

[HJenesis63]

Hey guys I've been reading MMM for some time now, but I'm fairly new to the forums. I wanted to get some advice on what would be the optimal way to use the money I earn this summer.

I'm a 20 year old college student going into my 3rd year of undergrad this fall. I'm going to school to become a physical therapist and am on track to complete my undergrad this year and then attend grad school for another three years to get my doctorate. At the moment I have about $7,700 in student loan debt ($2,650 at 3.76%, $520 at 4.45%, and $4,500 at 4.45% but the last one will not start earning interest until the summer of 2020). I also started a roth IRA last October with $1500 that has grown to about $1620 since then.

During the summer I live at home with my parents, so I don't have to worry about housing or food costs, so I'm really trying to get ahead financially. I should be making roughly $3,500 between now and the end of my summer vacation. I've already put $600 into my student loans this summer. I was initially thinking of putting $1500 into my IRA again this year and then putting the rest into my loans, but I'm open to suggestions about how I can optimize my situation.

[RWD]

Check out the Investment Order post.

Putting more in your Roth IRA is probably a good choice for your scenario. Your student loan interest rates are low and I believe it should be tax deductible. I'd probably put all of it in the Roth IRA, assuming you have a comfortable buffer in normal savings/checking type accounts.

[Bracken_Joy]

I second the Roth IRA. Especially if you have subsidized loans. Those aren't accruing interest right now. Definitely not worth paying off! Especially since you can pull out of your Roth IRA penalty free (principal AND earnings) for education expenses, in case your loan terms are worse in the future. (For nursing school, my first 2 years were government loans, then I had to take private loans at 8-9.5%... not as pretty!)

[Fishindude]

I would use it to pay school expenses so you don't need to take on any unnecessary additional student loan debt and / or pay down current student loan debt.